Review: Will Eastman at Virgin Mobile FreeFest
DJ Will Eastman is enjoying recess. At least that’s what it feels like watching Eastman, a trained historian and museum specialist who worked in the National Smithsonian of American History in Washington D.C., spin out sounds between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. in the dance forest at Virgin Mobile Freefest. Wearing a black tee-shirt and sunglasses, he bounces up and down, grinning a goofy I-love-what-I-am-doing grin.
General impression: the co-owner of U Street Music Hall has served on the management end of the club music scene for years and is now exactly where he wants to be.
Eastman released his debut single “Feelin” in Dec. 2009. His frantic, energetic sound exists at the intersection of house and mainstream techno. The base beats gallop at a breathless pace, interspersed with automated voice effects and sounds that bring to mind epic Star Wars laser battles.
I was a little worried if Eastman was going to be alone in this sentiment when I arrived in the dance forest at 12:45 p.m. There were only a dozen people there. Literally - I counted them.
Tucked away in...well... the forest, the location of the dance forest this year is a little on the obscure side. There is no huge indicator over the entrance, just a small “Emergency Exit” sign on the open gate.
But by 1:15 p.m., 15 minutes after Eastman took the stage, the crowd had arrived. Hipsters in tight purple pants. Prep school guys in madras and boat shoes. A woman wearing a glittery, gold cat costume. That guy with the beard you can always count on to be up front in combat boots and a loose plaid shirt dancing with his eyes closed. Diverse and colorful, the crowd was emblematic of the fans that make up the Baltimore/Washington D.C. music scene.
-Peter Krause
Peter Krause is a features intern at the Baltimore Sun this year. He is a junior at Goucher College, where he majors in English with a minor in Anthropology. A native of Baltimore, he loves to pop in some headphones, jump on his bicycle and jam to Lil Wayne, Lady Gaga, and various techno artists.
Photo: Will Eastman Myspace
Erik Maza is a features reporter at the Baltimore Sun. He writes for several sections of the Sun paper and contributes weekly columns on music and nightlife. He also writes and edits the Midnight Sun blog. He often covers entertainment, business, and the business of entertainment. Occasionally, he writes about Four Loko, The Block, the liquor board, and those who practice "
